Contents

Development history

In his waning years, Spencer ordered Alex to research a method through which he could become immortal, sending Alex to a secret island to conduct the experiments, along with thousands of test subjects. However, after years of supposed experimentation, Alex and her men fled the island, having instead been stealing resources from Spencer and siphoning them into their own projects. Alex then set up a new base on Sushestvovanie Island, where she conducted her own experiment, this time creating a new virus named the t-Phobos Virus.

As late as November 2009, the virus was still only in its prototype stage and undergoing testing on human subjects. By this month, the virus had been engineered to mutate in response to stress. Alex had eleven candidates fitted with sensor bracelets as part of an experiment to measure how long it would take for people to mutate, with three dying immediately and another eight mutating some time after.[1]

By January 2010, work on the virus was neared completion and the likelihood of the subject's immediate death was lowered.[2]

Usage in terrorism

During its development stage, Alex tested t-Phobos on test subjects chosen from the local villages. Due to being unable to control their fears, the test subjects soon mutated into Afflicted. Alex also experimented on animals such as dogs and began genetic hybridization with insects, creating the Orthrus and Glasp respectively.

By the time of its completion, Alex had established contact with Neil Fisher, a TerraSave member and mole of the now-inactive Federal Bioterrorism Commission. Using Neil's intel, Alex had her men assault the TerraSave headquarters and bring her several members for further testing, among them Claire Redfield and Moira Burton. The abductees were injected with t-Phobos whilst sedated and then released on the island for testing.

Means of infection

Unlike its precursor viruses, which mutate the host (almost) immediately after infection, the t-Phobos reacts to the host's mind. As long as the host is not experiencing fear and panic, the virus will not cause any harm. Should the host's mind be affected by intense fear, the virus spreads through the body within seconds.

The virus seems to only mutate men, with infected women promptly dying in considerable pain.[3] This explains why there are no female Afflicted on the island and why Moira dies in the Bad Ending rather than mutating. After mutation, if the subject dies, the virus may continue to reanimate the subjects, causing them to become Rotten.

Further notes

In one of Neil's reports, it is hinted people with strong mental capacity are able to overcome the effects of the virus; this explains why Moira and Natalia do not mutate during the course of the game, despite their bracelets glowing red.